Foster's Mocs add Jacksonville transfer Alford and other sports news

Foster's Mocs add Jacksonville transfer Alford and other sports news

August 8th, 2014by Staff Reports in Sportlocal

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball coach Jim Foster picked up another piece for his team Thursday with the addition of Jacksonville University guard Queen Alford. The 5-foot-10 guard from Decatur, Ga., led the Dolphins in scoring in her two seasons at Jacksonville and was an All-Atlantic Sun second-team selection. "We are delighted to have a player of her abilities join our program," Foster said in a released statement. "It is not often that you get a player of this caliber in this fashion." Alford scored 717 points and shot 41.5 percent from the field in two seasons, averaging 13.4 points per game as a sophomore, ninth most in the A-Sun. She also led the Dolphins in steals with 2.1 per game and was second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game, and she had 24 points and 13 rebounds in a Dec. 4 win over Tennessee State. She will sit out the 2014-15 season because of NCAA transfer rules and will have two seasons of eligibility at UTC.

Golf

• While longtime star amateur golfer Tim Jackson of Germantown surged into the lead of the 99th Tennessee Amateur with a third-round 66 Thursday at Memphis Country Club, UTC player Zac Stolz followed Wednesday's 70 with a 69 and moved into third place at 212. Jackson is at 2-under-par 208 going into the final round, and Oklahoma-bound Grant Hirschman from Collierville is at 210. Chattanooga's Taylor Lewis is tied for 15th at 216, Lee University's Taylor Davis shares 19th at 217, former Baylor School and Lee golfer Matt Emery and McMinnville's Brett Patterson are at 219, and UTC's Brooks Thomas, Harrison resident David Weeks and former local Nick Blakely are at 220.

Auto Racing

• Tonight is the makeup date for the United Sprint Car Series "Outlaw Thunder" Tour's visit to Boyd's Speedway, provided the weather cooperates, unlike on July 18. The race for the 1,300-pound, 700-horsepower, winged open-wheel cars will award national championship points as well as USCA Mid South and Southern Thunder regional points. Speeds are expected to exceed 120 mph. The six-car Hoosier Speed Dash will begin the night's sprint car competition, and the USCS 600 "Mini Sprints" also will be in action. Boyd's regular Crate Late Model and A- and B-Hobby classes will take their turns on the oval as well. Gates open at 5 p.m.; racing starts at 7.

Volleyball

• Covenant College had one of three USA South volleyball programs that were honored this week as American Volleyball Coaches Association team academic award recipients. That requires a team aggregate grade point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, and Covenant's 12 players combined for a 3.31 in the 2013-14 school year. Piedmont and Huntingdon were the other league teams making the list.

• Carson-Newman also was an AVCA all-academic team for 2013-14, with Rachel Harper from Boyd-Buchanan and Kristen Pickett from Cleveland High School among the eight Lady Eagles who had individual GPAs of 3.33 or better. Those two qualified together for the National Collegiate Sand Volleyball Association tournament at the World Series of Beach Volleyball, but Pickett had a torn meniscus repaired and was unable to compete in Long Beach, Calif. New CNU transfer Jenna Wilson played with Harper, who said the whole summer sand experience "was nothing like I've ever done" and she enjoyed bonding with her new teammate. "I loved it and I loved California," Harper added. "I've never been there, so it was good to get a new experience." Pickett is expected to be ready for the season opener on Sept. 5 in Belmont, Calif.

Basketball

• Organizer Book McCray said Thursday that the planned "Covenant Games" basketball event Saturday at 418 North Holly Ave. is being postponed until next month because of expected bad weather. The 3-on-3 games and 3-point contests for middle school boys were going to be held outdoors.